Page 22 - Florida Sentinel 7-8-22

Sports
Rays Owner Stu Sternberg Sued For Alleged ‘Fraudulent Transfer’ Of Team Control
Buccaneers’ Head Coach Wants Team To Stop Relying On Tom Brady’s ‘Heroics’ In 2022
TODD BOWLES AND TOM BRADY
Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles feels the team would be far better next season if they stopped waiting for star quar- terback Tom Brady to steal victory from the jaws of defeat week in, and week out.
There is no denying how important Brady has been to every team he’s been on. Throughout much of his leg- endary career, he was often the best player on the New England Patriots and Bucca- neers squads he led, and in 42 different cases, the 44-year- old rescued his teams from a loss with a fourth-quarter comeback win.
However, new Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles does not want to see that from his starting QB in 2022. Not
just because he will be 45 years old and playing high- level football, but because he believes his team would be better off if they carry the winning load together instead of relying so much on Brady’s right arm to win games.
“I think if everyone gets to the mindset of, ‘we need to make Tom’s job easier not him make our job easier,’ we’ll be a better team. If we don’t have to rely on the hero- ics, sort of speak, and every- body’s doing their job and earning their keep, we’ll be a better team ... There was a few games that we shouldn’t have even been in. If we take care of our business that way, more of a team-like thing, we’ll be a better team.”
A group of the Tampa Bay Rays’ minority partners filed suit against principal owner Stuart Sternberg last week, alleging he improperly enriched himself by secretly transferring operational con- trol of the MLB franchise to an entity he controlled.
The legal spat centers on the minority owners’ claim that Sternberg “wrongfully and surreptitiously” trans- ferred legal ownership of the team in 2020 from an exist- ing partnership structure to an entity called “Rays Base- ball Club.” The partners say they did not learn about the transfer until months after it occurred.
“These actions have stripped plaintiffs of the
Terry McLaurin Agrees To Huge New Contract With
STUART STERNBERG
value of their long-held in- vestments in the franchise and team,” the lawsuit says.
The minority owners par- ticipating in the lawsuit against Sternberg are listed as the MacDougald Family Limited Partnership, Stephen Waters, a trust in
Waters’ name, Robet Ke- linert and Gary Markel. They collectively own less than 10% of the Rays fran- chise.
The Rays minority part- ners are suing Sternberg for violation of Florida’s Unfair and Deceptive Trade Prac- tices Act and unjust enrich- ment and fraudulent transfer.
The lawsuit alleges, among other claims, that Sternberg and the Rays Baseball Club entity failed to disclose a $376 million pay- ment from regional broadcast partner Fox Sports Sun, which was “received after the ownership of the club and franchise had been trans- ferred out of the partnership and into RBC.”
Commanders
Hints He Would Be
Terry McLaurin has been look- ing for a new contract from the Washing- ton Com- manders this offseason, and the star wide receiver has fi- nally gotten it.
Open To Staying
Baker Mayfield
McLaurin and the Com- manders have agreed to a three-year extension that is worth up to $71M. The $23M average annual salary places McLaurin among the top- paid wide receivers in the NFL.
McLaurin did not report to minicamp because of his contract situation. He was en- tering the final season of his rookie deal and coming off back-to-back 1,000-yard sea- sons, so it makes sense why he wanted to cash in.
In 17 games last season, McLaurin had 77 catches for 1,053 yards and five touch- downs. He has been Washing- ton’s most productive offensive player.
BAKER MAYFIELD
pended. Mayfield’s re- sponse may surprise you.
“I think for that to happen there would have to be some reaching out,” Mayfield said. “But we’re ready to move on, I think, on both sides.”
That is not exactly a firm “no.” Mayfield’s response seemed to indicate that he has not totally closed the door on reconciling, at least tem- porarily.
TERRY MCLAURIN
The NFL is reportedly seeking to suspend Deshaun Watson for at least the en- tire 2022 season, which would leave the Cleveland Browns without their new starting quarterback. Their previous starting quarterback remains on the roster, of course, and many are won- dering if he would want to keep the job for another year.
Baker Mayfield re- quested a trade from the Browns as soon as they showed interest in acquiring Watson. No deal has gotten close, in large part because of Mayfield’s $18.8 million salary.
At Mayfield’s youth camp on Tuesday, Carey Murdock of SoonerScoop.com asked the former first overall pick if he would be open to starting for the Browns this season should Watson be sus-
With Browns?
PAGE 10-B FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY FRIDAY, JULY 8, 2022